Month: April 2016

Govt withdraws CRPF from NIT for ‘fanning’ protests

Editor

Paramilitary personnel were found to have shot videos which went viral online The government has withdrawn paramilitary CRPF from the National Institute of Technology (NIT) campus here after complaints that they were instigating protests. The CRPF men were deployed in the campus after the clashes between local and non local students over India’s loss to West Indies in WorldT20 semi final match on March 31. “Within few days of their deployment, the CRPF men were removed from the duties after it was found that some of the officials had shot…

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Are you drinking pure milk?

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DFCO launches valley-wide anti-adulteration campaign Jammu and Kashmir government is in a tight spot over the revelations made by officials in High Court following the media reports about the sale of adulterated food items including milk and milk products. Although there was a relief for a leading milk manufacturing company facing adulteration charges following a stay on District Court Budgam’s order by the High Court but there is still a question mark over the quality and standard of the milk sold in J&K. After HC’s cognizance, the authorities have launched…

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Hartals do not benefit anyone

Editor

Alternative strategy needs to be evolved to protest and counter the human rights violations Muhammad Asif Rashid Hartaal…..! The dialogue by superstar Amitabh Bachchan in his angry baritone voice in 1983 movie ‘Coolie’ has wooed the women, mesmerized the men, impressed the classes and entertained the masses but who could have imagined even in his wildest dream that in the coming time the word hartal will echo on the streets of Kashmir for decades to come, would be on the tip of tongue of each Kashmiri and would change the…

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Classes resume at NIT, most outstation students stay away

Editor

A police vehicle, marked ‘riot control’, remains stationed outside the main gate of Srinagar campus of National Institute of Technology (NIT) and a group of policemen stand at a nearby parking shed as the premier engineering university resumed class work after a 10-day break following protests triggered by India’s defeat in the T-20 Cricket World Cup semi-final. The gate is manned by the campus security and all entrants are carefully monitored and their entry and exit recorded on a register. The security guards on the campus remain on edge and…

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Express rail in Kashmir soon 90-minute travel in 35 minutes

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Northern Railways will start a limited express train service in the valley soon. This was informed by Chief Area Manager, Northern Railway, Srinagar, Atul Kumar Jain during a meeting chaired by Divisional Commissioner, Dr. Asgar Hassan Samoon here today. The Divisional Commissioner was informed that the aim of starting this service is to cut down the travel time and to reduce the rush of passengers, especially the employees, during the peak hours. “The introduction of the limited express will greatly reduce the travel time. Contrary to the 90 minutes travel…

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Agitating auto rickshaw drivers told to install meters or face action

Editor

As autorickshaw drivers continue their protests resisting the installation of digital meters, the Traffic Department has warned them of strict action if they fail to install meters soon. Autorickshaw drivers in the city continued to observe strike for the third day today to protest against the installation of fare meters, which has been made mandatory by the district administration last week. The drivers began the strike on Saturday following district administration’s directive ordering them to use fare meters, which the autorickshaw drivers’ community has resisted so far. Autorickshaw drivers charge…

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NHPC and exploitation of Kashmir’s water resource

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Aaliya Ahmed None other than a former minister for PHE, Irrigation & Flood Control, Taj Mohi-ud-Din, has described NHPC in J&K State as East India Company, fleecing the natural resources and giving peanuts in return. NHPC is back in limelight as a recent RTI application by a Delhi-based NGO NGO, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI),  has revealed that NHPC has earned from 2001 to 2015 Rs 194 billion from the sale of power generated from the different power projects being executed by them here. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has realized…

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After Mughal Road, Leh highway to reopen soon

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All road links to high-altitude areas, which were closed for the past nearly six winter months, are in the process of being thrown open to vehicular traffic. The strategic Zojila, which connects the Kashmir valley with the Ladakh region through the 434-km-long road, was open as the snow had been cleared off the road. “It will take a day or two to throw open the road officially after confirmation from our drivers,” said Brig AK Das, Chief Engineer of Beacon Project of the BRO. The Centre has already approved an…

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PDP-BJP govt hell-bent to change demography of Kashmir: Hurriyat (G)

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Hurriyat (G) on Monday accused New Delhi of trying to alter the Muslim-majority character of Jammu and Kashmir under the garb of National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM). “Indian think tank, with help of PDP-BJP government, is trying to convert the Muslim majority community of Jammu and Kashmir into a minority community,” said a spokesman of the amalgam. He warned the authorities to stop pursuing the scheme as “it is bound to have serious resistance.” In a daylong executive meeting, Hurriyat (G) warned the PDP-BJP government of serious consequences if they…

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Need to initiate steps to restore Mubarak Mandi : Nirmal Singh

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Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh today said preservation and restoration of Mubarak Mandi complex, one of the major architectural heritage landmarks of Jammu and Kashmir, needed a revamp through administrative change. He said the slow pace of development of the historical monument in Jammu was a cause for concern as nearly a decade had passed since the renovation work had started on it, but with little success. “I am personally concerned over early restoration and preservation of the architectural heritage landmark. There is an immediate need for an administrative change…

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